M&S is the first supermarket to speak out, calling for another extension after October. M&S has said that 96% of its suppliers attending its recent conference backed its call for the extension.

Suppliers are saying that the sector needs certainty – especially in the run up to Christmas – the period from the end of October to the end of the year is crucial in supply terms.

The sector is calling for the government to engage with retailers and the wider food supply chain to find a solution that protects standards through a common sense approach to compliance.

Uncertainty for Christmas supplies

M&S Chairman Archie Norman told BBC Radio 4 that M&S was already cutting its Christmas range due to uncertainties.  Mr Norman said the current EU arrangements are “totally unsuitable and were never designed for a modern fresh food supply chain between closely intertwined trading partners.”

The UK and the EU are in talks over reducing the number of checks for Northern Ireland ahead of their full introduction in October. So far however, little progress has been made.

Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said that supermarkets need to know by August what the arrangements will be to allow time to make key decisions on sourcing.

EU legal action paused

Brexit minister Lord Frost has called for a freeze on the current situation to indefinitely extend the existing grace periods on checks until a new settlement is reached. It is unclear whether Brussels will agree to further extensions. The EU paused its legal action against the British government in an attempt to de-escalate tensions over Northern Ireland. The EU started the process after the UK unilaterally extended the grace periods in March. The EU move is aimed at preventing any further deterioration in relations before the grace periods are due to end.

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The post-Brexit-post-partum dispute with the European Union over sausage and chilled meat sales to Northern Ireland has been branded “bonkers” by some involved in the ongoing, painful protocol negotiations.

Tensions with Brussels over the Northern Ireland border threaten to spiral out of control as crunch talks take place on Wednesday 9^th June, with the two sides at loggerheads over the implementation of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.

Time running out

The threat of “sausage wars” becomes real and imminent, as Brexit minister David Frost demanded flexibility from the EU and warned that ‘time is short.’ Frost called for “flexibility” from the EU” ahead of a ban on the export of chilled meat products from the British mainland.

While the UK government is ready to unilaterally extend the grace period for products like sausages, mince and chicken nuggets at the end of June, despite warnings from the EU this would trigger tariffs or quotas on British goods under the terms agreed.

NI Protocol

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic has warned the EU would act ‘swiftly and firmly’ if the UK tried to backtrack on its obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Brexit agreement.

David Frost said time was running out to find practical solutions that were needed to enable the protocol to work as intended.

Burdensome paperwork

He said “Businesses in Great Britain are choosing not to sell their goods into Northern Ireland because of burdensome paperwork, medicine manufacturers are threatening to cut vital supplies, and chilled meats from British farmers destined for the Northern Ireland market are at risk of being banned entirely,” he said.

“Further threats of legal action and trade retaliation from the EU won’t make life any easier for the shopper in Strabane who can’t buy their favourite product. Nor will it benefit the small business in Ballymena struggling to source produce from their supplier in Birmingham.”

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“We are very much trying to support members and ensure that the high streets are fully opened and safe for shoppers and customers to return” said Glyn, who is hopeful that the threatened ‘third wave’ from the Indian variant won’t hit the high streets as hard as the previous two lock downs.

“The big difference is the vaccine – and that’s now been extended to 18 year olds. There’s still some way to go but we have made huge progress in maintaining the momentum” said Glyn.

Retail NI has worked hard on the scheme to ensure that members who were still able to trade but who lost significant footfall through no fault of their own were compensated. The £72m announced by the Department of Finance has helped some retailers to get grants of £5,000 or £10,000.

“This was welcome but now we need to turn our attention to the multi-site grants. Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK where those businesses with more than one or multiple premises didn’t get the additional grants. This penalised many businesses who were essential services, particularly those who had larger formats.”

However while firefighting the current and immediate issue of the pandemic, the High Street Task Force is tasked with sourcing solutions for the medium to longer term and broader issues facing retailers.

“We need as much support as possible to help retailers on the road to recovery – it’s important that the Executive invests as much as possible in to the high street,” said Glyn, who chairs the policy and influencing sub-group of the High Street Task Force, working closely with a range of stakeholders.

“Business rates, planning, parking – these are just some of the broader issues that need addressed. We need structural changes to antiquated rates structure, but the task force won’t be reporting any time soon.”

Protocol

The protocol continues to pose various problems for the economy and the wider retail sector – particularly when the grace period ends in October.

“There are significant challenges. We had a meeting on June 1^st with Lord Frost. We need a veterinary agreement, dynamic alignment and a solutions based approach. We need to focus on solutions.”

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